TOMMY Sheppard, Joanna Cherry and Stephen Gethins are among the senior SNP politicians being discussed as possible contenders to take over from Angus Robertson as the Westminster leader of the party.

It is understood the SNP’s 35 MPs will hold an informal meeting in Westminster on Monday to discuss the election result, its aftermath and a “fightback” strategy after it lost 21 MPs.

Robertson, who was highly regarded for his performances at Prime Minister’s Questions every week, lost his Moray seat in one of the major shocks of the election with the Tory candidate and MSP Douglas Ross triumphing in an area where there had been a strong pro-Brexit and anti-independence vote.

Sheppard, a leading figure in the 2014 Yes campaign and the spokesman on the Cabinet Office, was re-elected as MP for Edinburgh East, while Cherry, an advocate and the party’s justice spokeswoman, was re-elected MP for Edinburgh South West.

Former party staffer Gethins, the SNP’s Europe spokesman, won his North East Fife seat back with a majority of just two votes.

Sheppard and fellow MPs Drew Hendry and Ian Blackford are being tipped as possible contenders to step in to either Robertson’s role or that of former first minister Alex Salmond.

Salmond had held the key role of foreign affairs spokesman since his election in 2015 but lost his Gordon seat in the biggest shock of election night.

Robertson was elected last year as the party’s depute leader following a summer-long contest where he competed against Sheppard, MEP Alyn Smith and Chris McEleny, Inverclyde Council SNP Group Leader.

Sheppard last night said he was saddened to see Robertson, Salmond and 19 other colleagues lose their seats, but believes Roberston could continue as the party’s depute leader.

“I hope Angus will stay on as deputy,” he said. “He is a very strong asset to the party. You don’t have to be a parliamentarian to be depute leader so there is no reason why he would have to resign.”

Sheppard said the party should remain optimistic, and remember it was victorious in Scotland. “We won this election and the Tories lost,” he said.

“Davidson set a mandate against a second independence referendum and she lost. The SNP got 35 seats, the Tories 13.”

He insisted the Tories deliberately misrepresented the SNP’s position that the party was calling a vote on independence now – rather than after the terms of Brexit had become known.

“The Tories misrepresented our position and successfully managed to convince a section of the population that the SNP was going to have a referendum every week until we won. It was a dreadful caricature but it had a political effect.

“There were overlapping factors at play but the success of the Tory campaign was that it galvanised the anti-independence vote which meant some right-wing Unionist Labour voters went over to the Tories believing the Union was more important to them than anything else.”

Hendry successfully defended his Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey constituency, having assumed office in 2015 amid the SNP surge.

He said he was disappointed to lose two such experienced colleagues and paid tribute to them but vowed those who remained would still hold the Tories and other parties to account.

“Naturally, I am pleased to have won my seat again. It is disappointing to lose a number of excellent hard working colleagues, in particular, Angus Robertson and Alex Salmond,” he said.

“They have both held governments to account for generations, with equal measures of wit, wisdom, credibility and compassion. Theresa May’s gamble has backfired and with a hung Parliament it will be even more important now to find solutions that take us forward, ensuring Scotland’s voice is fully heard at Westminster.”